Sushi Restaurant Counter

Construction of this Sushi counter was very similar to the kitchen cabinets. I used 3/4" Birch Plywood for the base cabinets and 3/4" AC Plywood for the counter tops. The outer surfaces of the counter were sprayed with black semi-gloss paint and sealed with a coat of clear laquer. The inside surfaces of the counter were left natural and sealed with a coat of clear laquer. If you are ever in Boise Idaho, stop in for some great Sushi! The address is below:

	This is a picture of the Sushi counter nearly completed. The base cabinet construction consisted of eight straight sections and two corner sections. The Upper Counter Tops, including the corner section tops, were each a separate unit. The Lower Counter Tops consisted of five separate sections joined together after the base sections were set in place. Laminate on the Lower Counter Top was field installed because of the massive surface area. All other surfaces were laminated in the shop.
	This is one of the base cabinets for the counter looking at it from the inside (chef area). There are four of these cabinets of the same length, two for the left and right sides of the counter. To make the sides the correct length, I made cabinets of different lengths to go between the two sections. By the way, the cabinets were built in my shop, which is attached to our garage, and assembled in our two car garage. There was just not enough room in my shop to build and assemble, I guess I need a bigger shop?
	Here are the three sections that make up the Left side of the counter. This section is 10'-10" long before it is attached to the corners. On the left side of the end piece, you can see the height drop of 6" for the Lower Counter. This is to separate the top surface, where the Sushi Coolers will be placed, from the lower eating surface.
	Here are the three sections that make up the Right side of the counter. This section is 9'-10" long. To the right of the picture is a corner section with the sink mount resting on top.
	Here is one of the corner sections looking at it from the front. There was a last minute change that was needed to keep the sink faucet from protruding out the top of the corner. In order to do this effectively, a section was added to the inside of the cabinet. This allowed the faucet to be under the counter top and out of the customers view.
	Here's an inside view of a corner section (without the extended top) and sink mount. The substrate for the sink mounts, as well as for all counter tops, was constructed by laminating two 3/4" thick pieces of AC Plywood. This created a 1-1/2" thick substrate.
	This is one of the Corner Counter Tops shown upside down and ready to be laminated. The edges were wrapped with 1-1/2"x3/4" thick clear pine to ensure a nice clean edge. Two pieces of plywood were laminated using glue and screws. The screws were countersunk and filled. The bottom side of all counter tops was later painted black.
	Laminate applied to the edges of the Corner Counter Top. This process took several hours to complete because there were so many edge surfaces. That and the fact that I had to let the adhesive set before attaching the laminate to the substrate. I had to install laminate on every other surface then trim and file the laminate before applying the remaining sections.
	Once the edges were laminated and trimmed, I installed the top laminate. The edges were later cleaned up with a file.
	Here is one of the Sink Mounts with edges and top laminated. Construction of the substrate was similar to the Corner Counter Tops. The edges with the black laminate were later cleaned up with a file.
	These are the three Upper Counter Tops. The edges have been cleaned but they don't look like it in this picture. On the left corner of the picture, you can see the pre-cut pieces of laminate needed for the Corner Counter Tops and Sink Mounts.
	With the cabinet bases and counter tops finished, it was time to move everything to the restaurant. The base sections and corner sections were placed in position and attached. The Counter Tops and Sink Mounts were left un-attached to allow the contractors access if needed. Shelves were also installed in three of the cabinet bases, at the shop, for extra storage. The black laminate on the floor is ready to be installed on the Lower Counter Top. The wall graphics were there from the previous tennants.
	The counter is coming together now that the Lower Counter Top has been installed and laminated.
	The chairs came in at the wrong height which caused the lower counter to end up a few inches lower than required. To correct this, I "raised" the counter using 2x4 sections on edge. I cut the 2x4 pieces at a 45° angle for a cleaner look. I should mention that this was all done before the laminate was installed. Otherwise, it would have made things a whole lot more difficult.
	The restaurant has taken on a new look. The painters have been here and no more colored walls! They painted the outer surfaces of the counter and laquered the inside.
	Here's a view from the open end of the counter. The center Prep Shelf is clamped in place. All three sections will have Prep Shelves.
	Another change in plans resulted in this 1/4" thick plywood (actually 7/32" thick) cap surrounding the underside of the counter. My original idea was to fill in all of those pockets but fortunately, I came to realize this was a much cleaner way to finish it. The painters were returning for some touch up work so they shot the cap with some black paint to match. The carpet is also going down as well as the baseboard.
	In addition to building the counter, I also built the Pass-Thru window and display shelf (not yet pictured) to the right of the window. I installed the service rail at the end of the counter as well. The white stripe is a piece of 1/2" Corner Round molding that will be painted black and installed around the perimeter of the counter top. That's my daughter in the picture, waiting patiently for Dad to finish up for the night.
	The Sushi Counter is completed and the coolers have been installed.
	Here's a closer view of the window and wall shelf. The shelf was built using 1x6 MDF molding and has six adjustable shelves. I used the 1/4" plywood for the back to give it regidity, it also made it easier to mount to the wall.
	Here's a look at the Pass-Thru window from the kitchen. Ice machine on the left, sink and keg cooler on the lower right.
	I also built this cash register stand for their POS system. I used 3/4" Birch plywood and solid pine for the edge treatment. After setting up the POS system, I added a shelf to the bottom (towards the rear) for mounting the PC. This stand along with the wall shelf was a one-night build so I didn't have time to take construction photos.
	It's Opening Night! Tables and chairs are in place and populated with menus and table settings.
	Here's a closer look at one of the Sushi coolers stocked with fish, crab, octopus and more. Three chefs work inside the counter to serve the guests. The restaurant is an "All You Can Eat" so they stay pretty busy.
	This is Steve, one of the chefs, filling a To-Go order.